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Family Bios: July 22, 2017

We will visit a family of nine, originally from Democratic Republic of Congo, who spent 20 years in a refugee camp All of their children were born in camp. The mother and father fled the Congo due to danger from the various wars. The father worked in construction and continued this work in camp in Tanzania. The mother stayed at home with the children. There are four daughters, ranging in age from 9 to 17, and three sons, ranging in age from 1 to 20. The children speak English very well. The family arrived to the US in 2016. They talk about how much they like school especially math, science, soccer and basketball. The father has found work as a kitchen worker at a local restaurant. They are happy to be safe in America and appreciate the help they are getting.

We will visit a family from Mosul, Iraq who made their way to the United States via a very harrowing journey. The family left Iraq in 2014 and fled to Turkey where they stayed for 2 years. Turkey proved unsafe and the mother and her two sons, age 4 and 9, left Turkey on a very treacherous journey by sea to Greece. They described having to constantly bail water from the boat, using shoes and anything they had so the boat didn’t sink. They talked of the drivers on the boat having guns and not feeling safe onboard. They remained in Greece until they could get passage to the US. The arrived to our country in October 2016. Unfortunately the father was not able to leave Turkey so the mother and children have traveled alone. They hope their father will be able to join them in the US. The mother is under medical care and is learning to speak English. The nine year old speaks very good English and will be in 5th grade this year.

And we will visit a family from Syria. The family includes a couple and their three teen age children (2 girls and 1 boy). They arrived to the US in August 2016.